In the general housekeeping environment in many facilities, there are numerous soiled surfaces.
In the general housekeeping environment of many facilities, there are numerous surfaces which are difficult for the custodial staff to adequately clean and maintain. The composition and/or function of these surfaces is such that they typically harbor organic soils and a diverse microbial flora that standard cleaning procedures do not effectively remove. Such surfaces include, but are not limited to, floors and walls in areas such as kitchens, restrooms, locker rooms, animal production facilities, kennels or veterinary clinics, loading docks, trash collection bins, and public transit operations.
As these surfaces accumulate soil and the natural microbial flora proliferates due to inadequate cleaning, the facility suffers two consequences. First, apparent cleanliness of the facility diminishes due to the soil load found in these materials. Secondly, this soil load can become a major source of nuisance odors due to the biological degradation of the organics by the resident microbial population.
Current technology does not offer an effective and efficient manner with which to solve this cleaning task. The principle method of cleaning employed relies on a light to medium duty cleaner and/or cleaner/disinfectant.
These types of products are capable of removing most surface soils and in the case of a disinfectant, destroying some of the resident bacterial population. They are not, however, effective against the soils that have penetrated the surface nor does their use of fragrances to mask odor offer any residual control of these nuisances. Because of this, either effective cleaning does not take place or a multi-step process is required to be successful. The best available cleaning technology involves application of the above type product(s) to clean the surface, followed by a rinse of clear water, and the use of a biologically active product to "deep clean" the surface and control odors. Biological products based on bacteria from the genus Bacillus "deep clean" and control odors through the biological degradation of the organics trapped in the substrate.
The objective of this invention is to offer a single-step process by which to accomplish cleaning of these surfaces. The invention is a combination of cleaning, disinfecting, and microbiological activity in one aqueous product.
The utilization of the microbial materials is to destroy offensive odors and their source that may be present on a surface. The purpose of the antimicrobial component is to kill various types of microorganisms found on the surface which might pose health concerns or contribute to nuisance odors. The microbials remain on the surface (after use) to continue the cleaning process through degradation of residual organics. A particularly important aspect of formulating antimicrobial products is that they remain stable for a long period of time. The microbiological materials likewise need to be stable in the presence of the other components of a cleaning composition such as the antimicrobial actives such as the quaternary ammonium compounds.
It is an object of the present invention to obtain an effective disinfectant and hard surface cleaning composition that is aqueous based.
It is an object of the present invention to obtain and utilize in combination a disinfectant, hard surface cleaning, and bacterial composition that is stable for a long period of time, but also allows the microbial material to remain active on the hard surface after the drying of the cleaning composition.
It is an object of the present invention to utilize an aqueous composition containing the genus Bacillus in the presence of disinfectants such as quaternary ammonium compounds.
It is an object of the present invention to perform general cleaning tasks in a more efficient manner whereby the multi-step cleaning process to clean, disinfect and control odors on hard surface substrates is decreased. The utilization of this invention will permit the saving of labor time and reduce chemical inventory.
It is an object of the present invention to utilize compositions that contain a bacterial content that provides better environmental fate attributes to both on site waste treatment systems and municipal treatment plants through biological augmentation of the indigenous bio-mass.
The following references may be pertinent to the invention disclosed herein.
PCT Publication WO97/25865 pertains to a sanitizing composition containing a surfactant, a chelating agent, a preservative, a thickening agent and a Bacillus microorganism.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,619 pertains to a drain opener formulation containing a Bacillus microorganism and a surfactant as well as a preservative.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,373 pertains to preservative composition containing quaternary ammonium compounds in conjunction with a specific preservative, which is a derivative of benzothiazole in specific ratios.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,128 pertains to an enzyme detergent composition where the enzyme is a proteolytic enzyme.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,794 pertains to a liquid cleaning compound containing abrasive particles plus viable microorganisms, such as, Bacillus, a detergent, thickener and an anti-settling agent. The composition is a cleaning composition.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,546 pertains to a method for cleaning and disinfecting contact lens wherein there is a preservative which is a serine protease derived from bacteria belonging to the genus, Bacillus, a metal chelating agent and boric acid. Non-ionic surfactants are also described.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,278 describes heavy-duty laundry detergents containing surfactants, non-surface active liquid carrier compositions, viscosity enhancing agents and enzymes.
PCT publication WO97/16541 described an alkaline protease, which describes a strain of Bacillus and which shows a stability in the presence of surfactants.
PCT publication WO97/38586 discloses a method of preventing the growth of microorganisms other than Salmonella on meat products by contacting the meat product with a microbial growth inhibiting amount of a quaternary ammonium compound together with a microorganism, such as Bacillus.